Cashless payments steadily progressing

First, the percentages of "cashless users" who prefer cashless payments whenever possible and "cash users" who prefer cash whenever possible were 78.3% and 21.7%, respectively. This result shows that "cashless users" are overwhelmingly the mainstream.

This result is surprising given the pessimistic view common in the payment industry that "most Japanese are cash-oriented, making cashless payments slow to advance."

In other words, it can be interpreted that consumers' mindset isn't necessarily cash-oriented; rather, while they may have to use cash at the point of payment, their preference is to go cashless. Nearly 80% of people fall into this category.

Breaking it down by gender, 84.5% of men identified as "cashless advocates," compared to 72.2% of women, indicating men are more enthusiastic about cashless payments.

 

The main reasons cited for supporting cashless payments were: "Eliminating the hassle of paying with cash, such as coins" (74.1%), "Payments can be made smoothly" (67.4%), and "Points or miles accumulate" (67.1%). This indicates that convenience and point rewards significantly influence their preference.

 

Conversely, the top reasons cited for supporting "cash payments" were "being accustomed to cash" (68.9%), "cash helps avoid vague money management like unnecessary spending" (42.9%), and "credit cards carry the risk of fraudulent use through data skimming" (40.1%), suggesting a preference for the reliability of cash.

 

2) Cashless payments account for about 60% of consumer spending, while cash has decreased to 27.7%

 

This growing cashless awareness among consumers is corroborated by other survey results. According to findings from a continuous survey conducted by a financial project, compared to a survey five years ago (August 2013), the share of each payment method in total consumer spending over the past month shows the "cash payment ratio" decreasing from 41.5% to 27.7%. Meanwhile, the combined "cashless payment ratio" of credit cards, debit cards, electronic money, increased by 16.7 percentage points from 43.2% to 59.9%, indicating a steady rise in the cashless mindset for consumption.

Debit cards and electronic money are driving this rise in the "cashless payment ratio," with debit cards increasing from 0.7% to 8.9% and electronic money rising from 6.5% to 13.6%.

 

Plotting the average usage frequency × average transaction value by cashless payment method reveals five distinct zones. For example, credit cards are often preferred for relatively high-value purchases, placing them in the "high frequency" × "high value" zone. Conversely, e-money, valued for its speed, is positioned as a replacement for cash payments at convenience stores and similar venues, placing it in the "high frequency" × "low value" zone. This reflects a trend of differentiated usage that leverages the characteristics and advantages of each payment method.

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[Survey Overview]
・Area: Nationwide
・Survey Participants: 【General Survey】Men and women aged 20-69 (excluding students)
【Student Survey】Men and women aged 18-29 (students only)
・Sample Size: 【General Survey】500 ss (population proportion allocation)
・Student Survey: 100 respondents (weighted by population composition)
・Survey Method: Internet survey
・Survey Company: Rakuten Research
・Survey Period: December 23 (Sat) - 24 (Sun), 2017
・Survey Implementation: Dentsu Inc.